Isaiah 59
Lexham English Bible
Rampant Transgression
59 Look! The hand of Yahweh is not too short to save,[a]
and his ear is not too dull to hear.[b]
2 Rather, your iniquities have been barriers[c] between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you, from hearing.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity.
Your lips have spoken lies,
your tongue speaks wickedness.
4 There is nobody who pleads with[d] justice,
and there is nobody who judges with honesty.
They rely on nothing
and speak vanity.
They conceive trouble
and beget iniquity;
5 they hatch viper eggs,
and they weave a spider web.
One who eats their eggs dies,
and that which is pressed is hatched as a serpent.
6 Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds[e] of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil,
and they hasten to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
devastation and destruction are in their highways.
8 They do not know the way of peace,
and there is no justice in their firm paths.
They have made their paths crooked for themselves;
everyone who walks[f] in it knows no peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We wait for light, but[g] look! there is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
10 We grope like the blind along a wall,
and we grope as without[h] eyes.
We stumble at noon as in the twilight;
among the strong we are like the dead.
11 We all groan like bears,
and we coo mutteringly like doves.
We wait for justice, but[i] there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are numerous before you,
and our sins testify[j] against us.
Indeed, our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing and denying Yahweh,
and turning away from following[k] our God;
speaking oppression and falsehood,
conceiving and uttering words of deception from the heart.
14 And justice is pushed back,
and righteousness stands afar;
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and straightforwardness is unable to enter,
15 and truth is missing,
and he who turns aside from evil is plundered.
And Yahweh saw,
and it was displeasing in his eyes that there was no justice
16 And he saw that there was no man,
and he was appalled that there was no one who intercedes,
so[l] his arm came to assist him,
and his righteousness was what[m] sustained him.
17 And he put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head,
and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and he wrapped himself in zeal as in a robe.
18 According to deeds, so he will repay;
wrath to his enemies, requital to those who are his enemies.[n]
He will repay requital to the coastlands.
19 So[o] they shall fear the name of Yahweh from the west,
and his glory from the sunrise,
for he will come like a narrow stream;
the wind of Yahweh drives it on.
20 “And a redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn away from transgression,”
declares[p] Yahweh.
21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says Yahweh:
my spirit that is upon you,
and my words that I have placed in your mouth
shall not depart from your mouth,
or[q] from the mouths[r] of your children,[s]
or[t] from the mouths[u] of your children’s children,”[v]
says Yahweh, “from now on and forever.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 59:1 Literally “from saving”
- Isaiah 59:1 Literally “from hearing”
- Isaiah 59:2 Literally “dividers”
- Isaiah 59:4 Literally “calling in”
- Isaiah 59:6 Hebrew “deed”
- Isaiah 59:8 Literally “walking”
- Isaiah 59:9 Or “and”
- Isaiah 59:10 Literally “like there are no”
- Isaiah 59:11 Or “and”
- Isaiah 59:12 Or “answers”
- Isaiah 59:13 Literally “back from behind”
- Isaiah 59:16 Or “and”
- Isaiah 59:16 Literally “it”
- Isaiah 59:18 Literally “hostile”
- Isaiah 59:19 Or “And”
- Isaiah 59:20 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 59:21 Or “and”
- Isaiah 59:21 Hebrew “mouth”
- Isaiah 59:21 Literally “offspring”
- Isaiah 59:21 Or “and”
- Isaiah 59:21 Hebrew “mouth”
- Isaiah 59:21 Literally “the offspring of your offspring”
Isaiah 59
Common English Bible
Alienation from God
59 Look! The Lord does not lack the power to save,
nor are his ears too dull to hear,
2 but your misdeeds have separated you from your God.
Your sins have hidden his face from you
so that you aren’t heard.
3 Your hands are stained with blood,
and your fingers with guilt.
Your lips speak lies;
your tongues mutter malice.
4 No one sues honestly;
no one pleads truthfully.
By trusting in emptiness and speaking deceit,
they conceive harm and give birth to malice.
5 They hatch adders’ eggs,
and weave spiderwebs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die.
Moreover, the crushed egg hatches a viper.
6 Their webs can’t serve as clothing;
they can’t cover themselves with their deeds.
Their deeds are deeds of malice,
and the work of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil;
they rush to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are thoughts of malice;
desolation and destruction litter their highways.
8 They don’t know the way of peace;
there’s no justice in their paths.
They make their roads crooked;
no one who walks in them knows peace.
Injustice obscures vision
9 Because of all this, justice is far from us,
and righteousness beyond our reach.
We expect light, and there is darkness;
we await a gleam of light, but walk about in gloom.
10 We grope along the wall like the blind;
like those without eyes we grope.
We stumble at noonday as if it were twilight,
and among the strong as if we were dying.
11 All of us growl like bears,
and like doves we moan.
We expect justice, but there is none;
we await salvation, but it is far from us.
12 Our rebellions are numerous in your presence;
our sins testify against us.
Our rebellions are with us;
we’re aware of our guilt:
13 defying and denying the Lord,
turning away from our God,
planning oppression and revolt,
muttering lying words conceived in our minds.
14 Justice is pushed aside;
righteousness stands far off,
because truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty can’t enter.
15 Truth is missing;
anyone turning from evil is plundered.
God will intervene
The Lord looked and was upset at the absence of justice.
16 Seeing that there was no one,
and astonished that no one would intervene,
God’s arm brought victory,
upheld by righteousness,
17 putting on righteousness as armor
and a helmet of salvation on his head,
putting on garments of vengeance,
and wrapping himself in a cloak of zeal.
18 God will repay according to their actions:
wrath to his foes, retribution to enemies,
retribution to the coastlands,
19 so those in the west will fear the Lord’s name,
and those in the east will fear God’s glory.
It will come like a rushing river
that the Lord’s wind drives on.
20 A redeemer will come to Zion
and to those in Jacob who stop rebelling,
says the Lord.
21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord.
My spirit, which is upon you,
and my words, which I have placed in your mouth
won’t depart from your mouth,
nor from the mouths of your descendants,
nor from the mouths of your descendants’ children,
says the Lord,
forever and always.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible